On January 20, the first day of his second term, President Trump signed a slew of EOs. Presidents issue EOs to signal their priorities, preview future policymaking, and manage operations within the federal government, such as directing agencies to compile data or prepare reports. EOs can influence how existing laws are interpreted and enforced, but they cannot repeal or amend laws passed by Congress, legal interpretations issued by courts, or regulations issued by federal agencies.
An EO may direct federal agencies like HHS or the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to issue new regulations or guidance, or to repeal or modify existing policies, but the agency must follow standard procedures to do so, such as public notice and comment for any proposed rulemaking. And any such regulations and guidance must be within the agency's authority and consistent with other applicable legal standards, including governing statutes and the Constitution. While EOs and nonbinding agency guidance may be issued relatively quickly, the process for issuing regulations is much slower.
While most of these initial EOs were not explicitly health related, many of the EOs could have implications for health care.
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